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Students from rural Appalachian regions often face increased career development barriers within university spaces. As part of an NSF-funded program, we provided diverse, structured supports for a group of STEM majors from rural Appalachian backgrounds. We utilized narrative inquiry to interview 10 Program participants, which allowed us to explore which supports they described as impactful, including graduate student mentors, their fellow program peers, program coordinators, campus supports, and other various campus faculty. Participants further described being impacted in a variety of ways: as an individual person, in their research pursuits, in their future plans, academically, and financially through the program’s scholarship. Specifically, they described strategies for success and the importance of belonging as impactful. Implications for future college support programming and for how to best support the career development of rural Appalachian college students, along with suggestions for future research needs and limitations to the research, are provided.
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Pursuing Retention and Success Of Rural and Diverse Stem Students: A Qualitative Investigation of a Program Ecosystem and Undergraduate Participants 1557-5284
Beginning in 2016 and with funding from the National Science Foundation, the Rural and Diverse Student Scholars Program at George Mason University supported two cohorts of diverse undergraduate students from rural Virginia in their pursuit of a STEM degree. A holistic program design and individual components aimed to combine to support student success. In a qualitative study with journal prompts, focus groups and interviews, the program was assessed, and insights were gleaned regarding the participant population. Results reveal the importance of community and mentoring in supporting student persistence and success. Participants described being rural as part of their identity and many maintained significant relationships with home and family, even after matriculation. Conclusions from this study are consistent with scholarly precedent and have implications for colleges and universities serving similar populations.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1564989
- PAR ID:
- 10547407
- Publisher / Repository:
- Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research
- Volume:
- 25
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 1557-5284
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- STEM education retention persistence qualitative methods student success rural identity
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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